The man behind “Ega Channel” reveals his philosophy of “not chasing numbers.

To create a new legend with Egashira 2:50

Egashira-san is the last samurai comedian in Japan. I have worked with him for many years, and he has never changed.

So says Yoshiaki Fujino, 43, director of “Ega-chan Channel,” the official YouTube channel of comedian Egashira 2:50 (56). The channel is a very popular content with over 2.8 million registered users. Currently on sale is Fujino’s book “Ega Channel Revolution,” which tells the story behind the channel. However, in an interview with this magazine, Mr. Fujino told us an episode that is not mentioned in his book.

In March 2006, Mr. Egashira often appeared on the TV programs “Pukkusuma” (TV Asahi) and “Mecha x 2 Iketeru! (Fuji Television Network) and “Tunnels no minasan no okagedeshita” (Fuji Television Network) ended. Mr. Egashira was also depressed, and I had worked with him as a director on “Pugsuma” for about 15 years, and I wanted to work with him more.

So we decided to start something new. I immediately took Egashira-san’s main project to various platforms, but it was rejected due to various issues such as compliance in this day and age.

Some people laughed when they read Egashira’s proposal, which had the image of a maverick, but the higher-ups still wouldn’t let it go through.

Mr. Fujino says that his greatest joy is being able to work with Egashira as he does now.

I have been a fan of Egashira-san since I was a student. The first live comedy show I ever saw in my life was also Egashira’s. After we started working together, I saw Egashira-san’s attitude toward his work and his stoic side, and I realized that he is an even more attractive person. As a result, I’m glad it took the form of YouTube, where we could work together in a familiar setting.”

Although Egashira has a strong image as a radical and outspoken character, Mr. Fujino saw another side to him as well.

Egashira is both unconventional and pure. He is also very reserved in his love life. Recently, he told me that he has been studying love by watching a YouTube channel called “Minako no overwhelmingly popular guy TV. After learning from this video that girls are weak at pushing and pulling, he has been repeatedly playing games by sending a good morning line to a prostitute he is close to every morning at 6:00 a.m. and sometimes not sending it (laughs).”

Two years have passed since the channel was established. Ega-chan Channel” has reached its highest number of views of over 7.83 million. In addition to Egashira’s personality, the channel’s structure and on-the-spot atmosphere, somewhat reminiscent of a Heisei era late-night show, make viewers feel that it is absolutely entertaining. Mr. Fujino says the secret to its popularity is “not to worry too much.

In the beginning, I was concerned to some extent about compliance screening for advertising on my videos. Videos with nipples showing are not allowed on YouTube, but Egashira-san was naked on the top half of his body to begin with. After learning about the screening just before, I thought about it and came up with the style of covering the nipples with duct tape with ‘NG’ written on it.

However, if we were only concerned about compliance, we would not be able to do what we wanted to do. We want to keep that balance. However, since Mr. Egashira is still Mr. Egashira, when we were doing whatever we wanted, such as giving room tours to SM queens, we received a warning from Google, had our videos deleted, and had to make an apology video while sitting on our knees (laughs).

Recently, Reina Triendl (30) had been giving Egashira the nod to perform with her for a long time, so we dared to do a project in which we would perform together. Her manager told me, ‘Please don’t chase after her because it could be traumatic,’ but Mr. Egashira was chasing after her. And he was chasing her while munching and eating turtles (laughs).”

Finally, we asked them to talk about their future goals for “Ega-chan Channel.

When I started “Ega Channel,” I had the goal of becoming the “Egashira of the world. This is a chance to be seen by people all over the world, so I am trying to create a legend overseas as well. Right now, I am not able to do what I originally wanted to do with the Corona Disaster.

Of course, numbers such as the number of views and subscribers are important, but they are not everything. We would be happy if they follow as a result, but our goal is always to be the “Egashira 2:50 of the world.

The Samurai in black tights is going global, armed with a video that embodies the spirit of Egashira, a legend rather than a regular for a single season.

Yoshiaki Fujino
Born in 1978 in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Formerly employed by K-MAX. Director and producer of variety and comedy programs such as “Pugsuma” and “Samara x Samara”.
Founded Banpeiyu Inc. in 2011. He is the representative director of Banpeiyu Inc. His book “Ega Channel Revolution” (Takarajima-sha) has been on sale since February 2010.

Ega Channel Revolution | Yoshiaki Fujino (Brief Dan D) | Book | Mail Order | Amazon

From the March 4, 2022 issue of FRIDAY